Chess world riven by feuds, factions and a £4.5m loss

On the face of it, the game of chess could not be duller – two serious-looking people at a table for several hours, moving pieces with only an occasional flourish. Behind the scenes, however, it's a whole different board game.

At the centre of a convoluted tale that involves The Times's esteemed chess correspondent, a Syrian-born billionairess and a Russian world champion lies Einstein Group, a Bristol-based company that used to market Osama bin Laden's favourite television company.

Last week, trading in Einstein Group's shares was suspended after the company missed its six-month deadline for supplying audited accounts to the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange. Unaudited accounts show an annual loss of £4.5m on turnover of £3.1m.

Adding to the company's woes are revelations that its former chairman Derek Wyatt, a Labour MP on the culture select committee, quit his post over the board's decision to buy the contract of Vladimir Kramnik, one of two current world chess champions.

The chess world, like boxing, has suffered from a damaging split in the past decade with two rival factions proclaiming their champion the world's best player. Mr Kramnik is now officially known as the Einstein Group world champion but the company hopes for a lucrative unifying title bout in the near future.

Mr Wyatt refused to comment on his decision to resign last year but it is understood he was unhappy with the deal to buy Mr Kramnik's contract from Brain Games Network, a company whose directors include Raymond Keene, chess critic of both The Times and The Spectator and author of a record number of books on chess. An email sent by Mr Wyatt to one Einstein shareholder states: "I resigned as non-executive chairman and director of Einstein on 14 November 2001. I did not agree with the deal with Brain Games nor the direction of the company."

Mr Wyatt refused to talk to The Independent on Sunday on advice from his solicitors. It is understood he was unhappy that the chess deal was distracting it from its original core business of providing a serious, science-based satellite television channel.

Steve Timmins, Einstein's chief executive, said the company's shares would begin trading again tomorrow and blamed the late filing of accounts on the company's auditors. Mr Timmins accepted the accounts were "not great figures" but said they were in line with forecasts. "We are a start-up and that was year two. I am certainly confident about the future otherwise I would not be continuing."

He explained he could not discuss last year's board meeting because it was a private meeting of a public company which would put him in "breach of his fiduciary duties".

Zena Howard, Einstein's head of marketing, said the trading suspension was "down to the financial people not getting their finger out". She said the company had a bright future with forthcoming chess matches and "loads of good things in the pipeline".

Einstein bought Mr Kramnik's contract – he plays a computer in Bahrain later this year and then a world championship match next year – in exchange for several million of its own shares.

Mr Keene, a major director of Brain Games, was also involved with a company that ran the Mind Sports Olympiad. That went into liquidation last year, as reported in The Independent on Sunday, and followed an acrimonious bust-up between Mr Keene and his brother-in-law.

Mr Keene said he was owed two million Einstein shares, which when trading was suspended last week were worth £1.25 each. "We are all meant to get paid in shares. I haven't had any shares," he said, adding: "I am very confident the Einstein Group will overcome their problems."

Asked about the chess world's current difficulties, Mr Keene said: "I think boxing and chess have a lot in common. The gladiatorial nature of the contest is very similar in boxing as in chess."

While Einstein Group, which until recently held the marketing contract for Al-Jazeera television, the station used by Osama bin Laden to relay messages,may be struggling at present, hope for the company lies with Madame Nahed Ojjeh.

Madame Ojjeh, who was born in Syria, now lives in Paris, where, according to chessbase.com, "she dedicates herself to the promotion of chess ... and is now regarded as the greatest international sponsor of the royal game".

She is donating €300,000 to the Einstein Group's current chess super tournament, taking place in Dortmund. The winner of that event will play Mr Kramnik for the Einstein group world title.

Madame Ojjeh says on the website: "Chess as part of our education and development can help to make the individual less violent and helps to chase away one's demons."

Einstein Group will be hoping chess helps it to chase away its own financial demons.